Charlottesville, Va. — In the first matchup between Syracuse and Virginia on March 4, Tucker Dordevic emerged as Syracuse’s go-to scorer. With just three games under his collegiate belt, the freshman scored a season-high four goals, including the game-winner, to defeat the Cavaliers on their home turf.

Dordevic’s game was just one example in which someone has stepped up for Syracuse in crucial moments when the team has needed it most. Nick Martin won the final five faceoffs against Duke. Ryan Simmons scored two points and netted the game-winning goal against Army. And Brendan Curry scored three late points against North Carolina to carry SU in come-from-behind fashion.

No one on No. 1 seed Syracuse (7-6, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) managed to step up this Friday night at Klockner Stadium, as the Orange fell to No. 4 seed Virginia (11-4, 1-3). On the opposing side, Virginia won the same way it lost to SU the first time as young players stepped up, sending the top-seeded Orange head home early in the second-straight year. SU now must wait for its NCAA Tournament fate.

“I was really disappointed,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said. “We didn’t run well and you have to this time of year.”

This Wednesday, UVA head coach Lars Tiffany said that freshman Matt Moore could be an x-factor in this contest. He had flown under the radar all season and could make a huge impact.

“I hope we’re talking Saturday morning about Matt Moore,” Tiffany said.

When the final whistle sounded, while Curry and Dordevic’s heads drooped in disappointment, media surrounded Moore, who led the game with four goals, and tied his teammate Michael Kraus in points with five.

But it wasn’t just Moore that shone bright against Syracuse. When these two teams first squared off six weeks ago, Syracuse won 16 of 27 faceoffs, giving its offense more opportunities and holding the Virginia defense on the field longer. This Friday, UVA faceoff specialist Justin Schwenk won 18 of 25 faceoffs, dominating Varello and company at the faceoff X.

But when the game began, Virginia wasn’t playing as a group effort. Its entire offense ran through Kraus, who scored five points on the Cavaliers’ first five goals. When the first half ended, Kraus two goals and three assists had outpaced SU’s four goals.

“He shot well. He saw the field well,” Desko said. “He just dodges so quickly a lot of times the defense can’t react.”

But while Kraus could seemingly hand his team a goal on every opportunity in the first half, Nick Mellen shut the sophomore down in the second half, limiting him to no points and few touches.

When the SU defense trapped Kraus, preventing him from maneuvering his way to the goal, Moore and Dox Aitken picked up where Kraus left off. Aitken added four points, nearly matching Kraus’ and Moore’s five.

On one occasion, Aitken found Ian Laviano right on the doorstep of the SU cage. No Syracuse defenders slid to help goalie Dom Madonna, as they all attempted to guard Kraus and the quickly-emerging Moore.

Meanwhile, SU’s weapons remained dormant. Jamie Trimboli did not manage to put a single ball on cage, and neither did Curry. Nate Solomon and Brendan Bomberry combined for two points and the Orange did not score once on its three man-up opportunities.

“They love dodging down the ally and shooting right at the last second,” Moore said. “Our D-mids played amazing today, probably their best game.”

The only player able to generate any offense for SU was Stephen Rehfuss, but even he fell victim to some poor shooting and a stingy UVA defense.

At one point SU held a two-man advantage after drawing two UVA penalties. As the offense moved the ball around the perimeter, Rehfuss found himself wide open, next to UVA goalie Alex Rode. A dart of a pass found Rehfuss before he attempted a rocket, low and inside. But Rode stuffed the shot.

Rode, a freshman, saved 10 shots in this contest, to move his season total against the Orange to 25 across just two games.

“Our D-mids did a great job of giving Rode the shots he wanted to see,” Tiffany said.

“I thought we shot low too much on him,” Desko added. “We gave up a bunch today.”

As Varello struggled at the faceoff X, Madonna saved only five shots, and the Syracuse offense struggled to take advantage of many opportunities, UVA punched back, beating SU at its own game.

The Orange walked out of Klockner Stadium knowing it needed someone to step up. Yet no one did.

Published on April 28, 2018 at 1:06 am

Contact Matt: mdliberm@syr.edu